Employee Shout-Outs 2022

Danielle Harlow

Procurement

Danielle joined our team in Procurement last fall and has been a breath of fresh air to our office. She always brings a positive attitude, is the first to volunteer to help with just about anything, and shows genuine compassion to those she interacts with. Danielle manages our front line support for HokieMart inquiries and does a tremendous job, providing patience and empathy in a professional manner. She is even always willing to track down answers for issues not related to HokieMart. Danielle has helped bring our office staff together with her bright personality and goes out of her way to make sure everyone feels included.  

Vickie Akers

Controller

Vickie will celebrate her 50th and final year at Virginia Tech this June.

Andrew Brown, Kendall Beaver, Walter Cook, Jimmy Ririe

Finance IT

It is remarkable that a brand new IT Support team came together so quickly to cooperate, work hard and learn the technologies necessary to provide First Class Support to the VPF area!

Karling Wilhelm

Bursar

When I think of a shout out, I think of Karling. Every day, she has a smile. She provides encouragement daily, she is extremely intelligent, and 100% dependable. Karling is an amazing team member and I know the Bursar's Office could not operate without her!! Great job Karling.

Karling has a knack for gathering all the facts and disseminating them to the office. Whether learning how to write a SQL query or assisting with fixed assets, Karling will get it done - fast! 

Karling is a joy to work with. She is always willing to help and goes the extra mile. She adds a lot of sunshine to our office. 

Diane Price

Controller

Diane goes above and beyond each day in completing the tasks that are assigned to her.  On average, an accounts payable analyst is expected to process about 50 invoices a day.  Diane consistently processes in excess of 100 per day.  I have on many occasions said that when Diane retires, we will have to hire two analysts to replace her.  Diane is also willing to do anything that is asked of her.  We recently asked Diane to take on the task of reviewing several hundred problem invoices and getting the issues with the invoices corrected.  Diane did this willingly.  I appreciate Diane for all that she contributes to the Controller’s Office Accounts Payable team.

Kayla Pace

Bursar

As the front desk receptionist, Kayla is the face of the Bursar's office. She is an asset to the office and has a natural pleasantry that makes students and families feel at ease, whether through email or in person. Kayla's excitement in finding solutions to make processes more efficient is contagious. Thank you for being a part of the team!

Hokie Passport Services team

I would like to thank the Hokie Passport Team for their dedication and best in class service!

Marion Hetherington

Bursar

I appreciate Marion’s willingness to answer phones, respond to emails, and open mail to help the office during peak times!  

Jenni Schoner

Controller

Jenni Schoner enhances the Controller’s Office work environment with her constant smile, positive attitude, and willingness to assist with any task regardless if it is related to her assigned job responsibilities. In addition, she actively participates in team-building activities to get folks engaged with colleagues outside their assigned work team. Her creativity for creating an interactive trivia game is always a hit. Jenni is one of the most conscious people I’ve encountered to ensure that her words and actions do not offend anyone or negatively reflect someone’s character. Just mentioning her name warms my heart.  

India Eanes

Controller

You would never know that India has only worked in the Controller's Office for seven months. She has taken her on new role as 'Business Operations Coordinator' like a pro! She seems to have learned the ins-and-outs of our department quickly, and knows how to find answers and resolve issues. She is responsive, pays attention to detail, communicates concisely and warmly, and always has a professional attitude.

Teresa Sowers

Controller

This past fall Teresa had both her staff move on to other positions at the University and during the search process to fill those positions she had to keep afloat the work of three.  Not only did she keep the important tasks on track during this difficult time, she did it with an exceptionally positive and professional attitude.  Her extraordinary dedication to her job and our team was exemplified during this time and I appreciate having Teresa on our team every day.  I want to recognize her significant efforts during this time of transition on her staff with this shout out and to say an emphatic thank you!

Becky Saylors

Controller

Becky has led the Controller's Office 'Camaraderie' committee for several years. She enthusiastically leads new ideas for celebration and service, follows through on her commitments to events, and remembers to thank participants. She always has a bright smile and a  'hello' for those who help as well as those who are being served. She motivates others to participate - and that can be a challenge in our 'heads-down' task-driven accounting work!

Diane Bonsall

Office of the Vice President for Finance

I would like to thank Diane being so efficient, professional and super friendly! Thank you for keep everyone’s schedule straight and making me laugh on tough days!

Kelly Leggett

Bursar

I want to thank Kelly for jumping in to help with phones, emails, and mail during peak times.  She is always willing to help, including taking on additional reconciliations and reports, and is a great team member. She's instrumental in coordinating the Bursar's Office CVC activities. Thank you for all that you do!

Jean Cummins, Kelly Leggett, Amanda Marcum, Susan Olmstead, Diane Bonsall, Terry Kingrea, India Eanes

Department CVC Representatives

You helped us make this our best year ever! 

Kelly Perkins

Bursar

Shout out to Kelly Perkins for being an account receivable expert and always being available to answer questions for the OUB staff, students and families, and other VT departments! You are a Rock Star!

Internship & Fellowship Program Mentors

Thanks to all the mentors across our departments who supervise our VPF interns and fellows during their time with us. You all do a great job creating a positive experience for them and the time and commitment you put into the program is what makes it all a success. We appreciate working with each of you! 

Nick Woods

Office of the Vice President for Finance

Nick has done so much to help bring the different areas of the VPF division together through the employee spot highlights, divisional newsletter, and his work on the Inclusion & Diversity committee. His contributions have been really impactful and I appreciate the work he is doing!

Customer Service Team

Bursar

Thank you, thank you, thank you Bursar customer service teams!  Your behavior sets the standard of excellence of your fellow staff members.

Cherrie Rose

Bursar

Within the past year Cherrie has stepped into a new role, and has really gone above and beyond in learning the role and supporting her team. Cherrie has done an excellent job in not only learning her own position, but learning and covering positions of other team members who have had to be out of the office, as well as in finding new ways to make our processes more efficient! Thank you for all you do, Cherrie!

Amie Pendleton

Bursar

Amie is always such a joy in the office. She is the office's cheerleader and truly makes you feel a part of the office. There are some mornings that you may be moving a bit slower due to lack of caffeine, but you count on Amie to provide a smile to your face as she says good morning to everyone in the office.

Matt Swift

Financial Management

Matt is always going above and beyond for our finance community. He makes it a point to call people not only to check in, but also to see how he can help them with any data in the future. His constant communication with those around campus about their data needs has made the Fiscal Training Program successful and helped many employees in the process.

Gaynell Brackens, Casey Hamblin, Wendy Broughman

Bursar

The Third Party Team steps up, works hard and contributes to the Bursar's Office each and every day.  However, they willingly made extraordinary contributions to the office not only once but twice in the last year.  They were major contributors to secondary phone coverage during the summer months when the Bursar's Office experienced staffing shortages.  Then again at the start of spring semester (one of the busiest times of year for the Bursar's Office) they accepted extra duties to help cover for their supervisor who was out of the office suddenly for almost three months.  This is a wonderful group of employees who I am thankful and honored to work with on a daily basis.  They are truly appreciated!

Joseph Mills

Controller

I enjoy watching the twinkle in Joseph’s eyes when he receives a new problem to tackle. He embraces every assignment with enthusiasm and can create synergy within teams. Recently he assisted accounts payable to automate the end-of-year 1099 process. First, he made a template for accounts payable to use monthly to verify vendors. Second, the end-of-year reporting process was automated, eliminating paper. Joseph developed queries and Excel workbooks to check vendors, monitor tax identification numbers, and identify human subject payments. By automating this process, Joseph has created efficiencies for the accounts payable team during the busy calendar year-end season.

Angela Page

Budget and Financial Planning

Thank you for your support and wise advice! Working with you is a pleasure! 

VPF Inclusion & Diversity Committee

Thanks to our Committee for your work and to Nick for his leadership. I really appreciate all the initiatives you offer and the focus you bring on diversity and inclusion to our units. Shout-out to you all!

Roger Foster

Bursar

I want to thank Roger for helping answer emails during peak times!  

Rosanna Nadeau

Controller

Rosanna Nadeau is the Special Projects Coordinator for the Accounting Operations Area of the Controller’s Office which means that she provides project support to Payroll, Accounts Payable, and General Accounting.  Rosanna is a truly a joy to work with.  She takes on any task with a smile on her face.  Rosanna does whatever is needed.  She has learned training development software to be able to create training related to Banner topics, Chrome River topics, and Payroll topics such as non-Resident employment.  She does system testing for upgrades and new processes.  She helps to develop new policies and procedures, and so many other tasks.  Rosanna is truly a jack of all trades and is happy to help in any situation.  Rosanna is an asset to the Accounting Operations area, and I enjoy getting to work with her daily.